Cause
Corroded relay socket
The socket rather than the relay, which is why swapping in a known-good relay proves nothing. A high-current contact that has arced or corroded generates heat, which discolours the socket and eventually melts it — so a browned or distorted socket is the finding, and fitting a new relay into it repeats the fault.
Typically an easy fix. Often worth checking before paying anyone to look.
Codes this can cause (13)
Codes where this is a likely explanation first, rather than merely a possible one.
- P0615 Starter Relay A Circuit Likely for this code Moderate
- P0617 Starter Relay A Circuit High Likely for this code Moderate
- P0685 Engine Control Module Power Relay Control Circuit Open Likely for this code High
- P0686 Engine Control Module Power Relay Control Circuit Low Likely for this code High
- P0687 Engine Control Module Power Relay Control Circuit High Likely for this code High
- P0688 Engine Control Module Power Relay Sense Circuit Open Likely for this code High
- P0689 Engine Control Module Power Relay Sense Circuit Low Likely for this code High
- P0690 Engine Control Module Power Relay Sense Circuit High Likely for this code High
- P2AF5 Starter Relay C Stuck On Likely for this code High
- P2AF6 Starter Relay C Stuck Off Likely for this code High
- P0418 Secondary Air Injection System Control A Circuit Low
- P0419 Secondary Air Injection System Control B Circuit Low
- P0616 Starter Relay A Circuit Low Moderate
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
Others who found this
Be the first to write this up
Nothing posted about this yet. Whatever you found is worth writing down — even a dead end saves someone the same afternoon.
What makes one worth reading:
- The car — make, model, year and engine. The same fault behaves differently on each.
- What you measured, not only what you replaced.
- What actually fixed it — or that nothing did, which is worth knowing too.
Sign in or create an account to add what you found about Corroded relay socket.